What won the race: Overcoming a lap-two incident before taking advantage when Kyle Beard hopped the turn-two cushion on lap 37, sixth-starting Mike Palasini Jr. of Leland, Miss., paced the final four circuits of Friday's 20th annual Gumbo Nationals opener at Greenville Speedway. Palasini pulled away and beat Beard by 1.617 seconds for the $5,000 payday, his third Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series victory of the season and 12th of his career.

Quotable: "There was one little rut still down there in (turns) three and four that I could probably miss better than anybody there towards the end. The car kept getting better down here in one and two," Palasini said. "I started reeling Brian (Rickman) back in a little then Kyle (Beard) got the lead. I couldn’t fire off good and once these tires got hot, I could run him back down a little bit. Just kinda waited, we got in lapped traffic and I knew I better try to get him right then if I was gonna get him."

Key notes: Palasini picked up his second Greenville victory of the season, adding to a July 25 MSCCS triumph, worth $3,000. ... It's his 10th Greenville special since 2018, including a sweep of 2023's Gumbo Nationals and 2024's event prelim, combining to collect more than $42,000 over that span. ... Palasini overcame a lap-two incident that saw him climb the left-rear tire of Jon Mitchell with his car nearly stopping on top of Mitchell's spinning machine before eventually sliding off and landing on all four tires; Mitchell was charged with the caution and credited with 26th as the race's first retiree. ... Kyle Beard inherited control on a lap-22 restart when race-long leader Brian Rickman slowed after trailing smoke for a number of laps; Rickman retired and was credited with 16th while Beard led laps 22-36 before hopping the turn-two cushion while racing amid heavy lapped traffic, ceding the lead to Palasini. ... Fifth-starting Spencer Hughes regained third from Cam Harris on lap 37, relegating Harris to fourth. ... Randall Beckwith ran as high as fourth in the early going until giving way to Hughes and eventually Harris, settling for fifth. ... Besides Rickman's apparent engine woes on lap 22, the race was slowed two other times, including when third-running Neil Baggett left the turn-three racing surface at the same time as Mitchell and Palasini's lap-two tangle, necessitating a 10-minute red flag for cleanup; all drivers were OK. ... Blake McClain spun on the 18th lap and retired. ... The 30-minute feature ended at 12:08 a.m. with eight starters completing 40 laps. ... The two-day Gumbo Nationals concludes with Saturday's 50-lap, $10,000-to-win finale.

On the move: Matthew Brocato of Muscle Shoals, Ala., started 14th and finished eighth.

Winner's sponsors: Palasini’s Ricky Jowers-owned Bob Pierce Race Car is powered by a Pro Power Racing Engine and carries sponsorship from Luigi’s Restaurant, The Tint Man, Pro Glow, Advanced Suspension, Dreher Contracting and Fosters Wood Work.

Points chase: Before Greenville Friday: 1. Bo Slay (1,115); 2. Mark Dodson (880); 3. Randall Beckwith (650); 4. Easton Bollinger (470); 5. Brian Rickman (465).

Current weather: Clear, 73°F

Car count: 26

Fast qualifier: Brian Rickman

Time: 14.897 seconds

Polesitter: Brian Rickman

Next series race: October 10, Greenville Speedway (Greenville, MS) $10,000